Course overview

Start date

Subject area

Attendance

Learning

Course summary

This primary teacher education course is designed for graduates who are committed to becoming primary school teachers. It trains you to teach children in the five-to-11 age range.

As a trainee you will learn how to teach the entire primary curriculum as well as choosing a particular route.

The Special Educational Needs (Inclusion) route is designed to enhance your skills and confidence in meeting the strengths and needs of all pupils in mainstream classrooms.

East London offers multicultural, multilingual and vibrant schools in which to learn, but your training at UEL will qualify you to teach anywhere in England or Wales.

Our PGCE team is made up of experienced practitioners who have worked in a range of primary and early years settings across London as classroom teachers, curriculum co-ordinators, advisory teachers and school leaders.

At UEL you will be part of a diverse community of students. We want to bring to east London a teacher workforce that reflects the local community and, in 2013-14, 24 per cent of our Primary PGCE trainees were men.

Contact us

If you have any questions, talk to a member of our Applicant Enquiries team on +44 (0) 20 8223 3333 or email study@uel.ac.uk.

of new teachers in Redbridge came from UEL

Hester Enthoven

Primary PGCE student, 2014-2015

A PGCE course at UEL is a great starting block for teaching in east London. Having not worked in the education sector before, I found the initial weeks of lectures gave me a good grounding and strong introduction to the teaching practice. You do three placements, which is a great opportunity to work with different year groups and experience a variety of school environments. The lecturers are really supportive throughout.

Fees and funding

Home and EU students studying for a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) may be eligible for a tax-free bursary from the government, worth up to £30,000. These are paid in ten instalments from October to July, directly to your UK bank account, starting in October each academic year.

Who's eligible?

As a PGCE student, your eligibility for financial support and the amount you receive depends on the subject you plan to teach - as well as your degree classification or highest relevant academic qualification.

Please submit completed PGCE Bursary application form either at Docklands/Stratford Student Hub or post to Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART), University of East London, Docklands campus, 4-6 University Way, London, E16 2RD.

Please refer to the PGCE Guidance Notes for information on eligibility, payment details and implications of leaving your programme with regards to the PGCE bursary.

Refer to the application form to provide bank details to receive bursary payments, where eligible. If for any reason you decide to defer or withdraw from your PGCE programme email thehub@uel.ac.uk promptly to prevent any overpayments which will be reclaimed.

Tuition fees are subject to annual change. Fees for future years will be published in due course.

As part of the Tier 4 student visa requirements, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) estimate that you will need £1,265* per month to cover your living costs. It includes expenses for accommodation, food and drink, travel within London, text books, entertainment, clothing, toiletries and laundry. Most Tier 4 students are required to show they have sufficient funds to cover the first nine months of the course before they start- a total of £11,385- in addition to the tuition fees. You can find more information about the specific requirements of the Tier 4 student visa here. The amount that you will spend can vary depending on your lifestyle. The UKCISA International Student Calculator can help you plan and manage your money.

* Please note the Immigration Rules are subject to change and this figure is likely to be increased by UKVI year on year. Please therefore check our ISA pages (www.uel.ac.uk/isa) for more information at the time of preparing your visa application.

Deposits and paying by instalments

International students are required to pay a deposit prior to being issued a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

Your remaining balance will be paid in five monthly instalments over your first term. The first of these instalments must be paid when completing your enrolment on arrival at UEL. Please follow the payment instructions here.

After the required payment has been made, you will be asked to complete the online International Student Reply Form to confirm your acceptance of our offer and of our terms of admittance and fees policy.

Our International team at UEL are available for advice and guidance on studying in London, fees, scholarships and visa requirements.

INTERNATIONAL

(Including European Union)

The entire interview process lasts about three hours. During the interview you will be asked to talk about a current educational issue. Please ensure you have done some research into current educational issues in advance of the interview. You could, for example, read recent editions of the Times Educational Supplement.

Our aim is to find out as much as we can about your attributes, skills, knowledge and understanding in order to shape training opportunities for you, should you be offered a place on the programme.

Your responses to these tasks and activities will be considered alongside all the other evidence to assess your suitability for the Primary PGCE programme.

During the individual interview you will be given the chance to talk with a tutor about the programme and any other issues that are relevant.

Applicants must pass a Professional Skills Test in Literacy and Numeracy prior to starting the course.

It is a legal requirement that you are assessed as fit to teach in order to be given an unconditional offer on our programmes. Teaching is a demanding activity and there are fitness requirements set by the Department for Education for applicants to teacher training.

Maitland Medical undertakes the screening process for physical and mental fitness to teach. An online questionnaire must be completed and a fee of £55.00 must be paid upon submission. You will need to contact Maitland Medical at mail@maitlandmedical.co.uk or phone 0208 295 8250 in order to apply.

Maitland Medical will notify UEL when an assessment has been made so that we can update our records. These records will be checked prior to your placements to ensure that you are fully cleared to attend.

Trainee teachers with special needs and/or disabilities are very successful on our programmes particularly when they disclose their needs before registration. If you do have a particular need or disability we strongly encourage you to disclose this as soon as possible so that we can assess the level of support you may need and to which you are entitled.

GCSE equivalent qualifications taken outside the UK will be assessed in line with UK NARIC and NCTL guidance.

Applicants who hold a degree or qualifications from a non-UK institution, must verify their equivalence through the National Recognition Information Centre for the UK (NARIC). Please go to http://www.naric.org.uk for information on their services.

You can speak to a member of our Applicant Enquiries team on +44 (0)20 8223 3333, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Alternatively, you can visit our Information, Advice and Guidance centre. Please click here for details.

What you'll learn

You will learn how to be a primary class teacher. By the end of the year, you will understand how to teach the entire primary curriculum to a class of 30 pupils, and be confident and competent in doing so.

You will leave the course with outstanding subject knowledge across the curriculum. You will have an understanding of how to plan and deliver engaging and motivating lessons and how to support your pupils’ progress.

You will learn how to identify the strength and needs of your pupils and make sure that everyone in your class is included and challenged.

Everyone on the Primary PGCE learns how to teach the whole curriculum. You will also have extra sessions that will enhance your skills in meeting the needs of all pupils in mainstream classrooms and develop your understanding of particular Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

You will learn to think critically about what is meant by ‘special needs’. You will discuss strategies for teaching and assessing children with various needs and try to find solutions for the difficulties you might encounter.

“You grow to expect the unexpected in east London. When the unexpected confronts you in your teaching career, you’ll be ready,” says Andrew Read, Head of Primary Initial Teacher Education. “You get a rich experience in east London, in particular working with pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and pupils for whom English is an additional language.”

What you'll study and when

Learning and teaching across the curriculum and effective pedagogy (core)

Managing Professional Change and Development : active inquiry leading to classroom intervention (option)

Critical Incidents in Teaching (core)

Technology-enhanced Learning (core)

How you'll be assessed

You are assessed against the Teachers’ Standards, leading to recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). You also have to complete assignments that contribute to your understanding of teaching and learning and carry academic credit, leading to the award of a PGCE.

You will complete two Level 7 (master’s level) assignments. For both of these you will need to read and understand literature about good practice and then think and write about your own practice. The 60 Level 7 credits will contribute to the PGCE award.

How you'll learn

You will spend most of the first seven weeks at the Cass School of Education and Communities, in our purpose-built education building. Here we will look at pedagogy (how to teach) and curriculum (what to teach). You will develop your knowledge of all subjects and your understanding of how to support pupils’ learning across the curriculum.

There will be one keynote lecture per week, with follow-up seminars in which you will discuss aspects of teaching, such as behaviour management and pupil progress, with your fellow trainees.

During this initial period, Mondays will be spent in schools observing. Here, you will develop your understanding by watching examples of good or outstanding practice.

In addition to the above, you will spend further sessions throughout the year focusing on Special Educational Needs and Disability. Each session will have a specific focus. There will be pre-session reading, tasks and research to complete in addition to your usual PGCE studies and assignments.

You can also join a shared wiki space where members of the group will be able to keep in touch, upload tasks and share resources.

There are three blocks of full-time school-based training on the course, each eight weeks long. Your first placement usually begins in the middle of October.

Your UEL tutors will decide where you go on placement and arrange for it to be as convenient as possible for you. You will be teaching, not helping, on the placement. You will start off working with groups of pupils but your role is not to help the teacher – it is to support and increase the pupils’ learning.

You will have a school-based mentor (a teacher employed by the school) as well as a professional tutor from UEL who will visit you during each placement. This is partly to moderate and assess the quality of your work, but also to give you support, guidance and feedback.

In principle, your three placements will be in different schools. However, schools sometimes ask for trainees to return for a second placement.

Your future career

By working alongside schools and local authorities in our region, we are helping to meet the need for teachers in our local area and many of our students are offered posts by our partner schools. Some trainees have been offered jobs at schools where they have spent their placement.

Schools and local authorities have told us that they think our trainees are of a high standard. OFSTED’s 2012 inspection report quotes one school as saying, “They arrive in schools ready to start teaching and are well prepared for the rigours of the classroom.”

Backed by UEL’s good reputation, you will have a head start when it comes to securing a teaching post.

And when you are in a post and decide that you wish to take your academic qualifications further, we can help you to continue your academic and professional development.

Your PGCE will earn you 60 master’s level credits, which can count towards further qualifications on master’s courses at UEL.

Primary with Modern Languages

PGCE

Primary with Music

PGCE

Primary with Physical Education

PGCE

Primary with Science

PGCE

Primary with SEN (Special Schools)

Meet us in your country

Our international team travel overseas regularly to meet prospective students and attend recruitment fairs. Our academics also give regular lectures overseas and are happy to speak to prospective students. In addition, we have a large worldwide network of advisors who can provide guidance and support with applying to study at the University of East London.

Enquiries

UK/EU Full-time starting Sep 2018

How to apply

Applications should be made online directly to UCAS. We recommend applying as early as possible to ensure that you secure a place.

Please read and consider the entry requirements for this course before you submit your application. Our enquiries team can provide advice you are unsure if you are qualified for entry or have any other questions.

Enquiries (Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm)

Our enquiries team are available to assist you with any queries you may have.